Snapshots: Coming Home
by dare-denymecider
Summary: Tony and Gibbs become parents through surrogacy. Part 9 ****AFTER 2 YEARS I'VE FINALLY WRITTEN ANOTHER PART - I HOPE THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL INTERESTED - IF THEY ARE, THEN THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME. IF NOT, THIS WILL BE THE FINAL PART. THANKS FOR READING
1. Chapter 1 Coming Home

Snapshots: Coming Home

"This is it!"

Jethro Gibbs turned away from where he was stacking the dishwasher and moved towards his partner who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with an excited grin on his face.

"Really?" Jethro asked. He had heard the telephone ring but had left it to Tony to answer it. They had both been on tenterhooks for days waiting for news but now that the phone call had come, Jethro suddenly felt himself even more nervous. Tony reached out a hand and placed it on the older man's forearm.

"Really," he assured him, allowing his thumb to stroke Jethro's arm soothingly, sensing his partner's anxiety. "Steve just called and Amber went into labor at 6 this morning and they've just arrived at the hospital. They're getting checked-in right now," he added.

Jethro looked down at his watch and then back at Tony. "It's 1146, Tony. She's been in labor for nearly 6 hours and they've only JUST called us?"

"Relax, Jet," Tony said, trying hard not to laugh at the man in front of him. Jethro Gibbs was renowned throughout NCIS for being a hard ass and not accepting any shit from anyone and now, to see him reduced to a nervous wreck, Tony thought it was quite a funny sight. Not that Tony wasn't nervous himself. This was a huge step for both of them. There had been weeks of discussions between the two of them before the search had begun to find the perfect donor and the perfect surrogate to carry their child to term.

Amber had been the fourth woman they had contacted. A mother of three in a happy marriage, Amber had immediately set their minds at rest, answering openly and honestly any questions they'd had and asking a few of her own. Most importantly though, Amber hadn't approached surrogacy as a money making venture. She'd told them that she wanted childless couples to experience the same joys of parenthood that she and her husband had experienced with their children. The most important factor for Amber was that the couple were in a committed relationship and that they were in a position, both emotionally and economically, to provide for a child and Tony and Jethro had more than ticked the right boxes on that front. So, apart from accepting money for medical and clothing expenses, Amber had asked nothing of the two men. Her pregnancy had progressed in a textbook fashion, and she kept Tony and Jethro in the loop constantly. She was more than happy for the two men to accompany her to her sonogram appointments. It was at her second sonogram appointment that something unusual had been discovered.

A second heartbeat.

Tony had felt Jethro tighten his grip on his hand when the doctor had delivered the news that Amber was expecting twins. At home later that evening, Tony and Jethro had sat watching the sonogram video over and over again, marvelling at the fact that they were going to become parents to identical twins.

Tony smiled at his partner and pulled him into a warm hug.

"Do you realise that the next time we're in this house, we'll have our children with us?" Tony whispered into his ear. Jethro could feel Tony smile against the side of his head and his own lips curled up into a grin.

"I like the sound of that," he said, placing a chaste kiss in Tony's hair. "Let's go get our babies."

Tony and Jethro arrived at the hospital an hour later and quickly located Amber's room on the third floor. Tony knocked and tentatively pushed open the door, unsure as to what lay behind the door.

To his relief, the scene before him was calm. Amber was lying back against the pillows, her eyes closed. Her husband, Steve, was sitting at her bedside, her hand held loosely in his. At the sound of the door opening, Steve looked up and smiled, beckoning the two men into the room from where they were hovering in the doorway.

"How is she?" Tony asked Steve, before settling into a chair on the other side of the bed.

"I've been better,"

All three men turned to look at Amber whose eyes were now open. Tony noted how tired she looked and automatically reached for her hand. She gripped it tightly as a contraction swept over her. Jethro watched from his place behind Tony as her stomach went rock hard and then relaxed as the pain eased. He was still amazed that this woman was prepared to go through all this pain so that he and Tony could have the family they so desperately wanted. He knew that both of them would be eternally grateful to her.

Amber took a few moments to recover from the contraction and then directed her attention back to Tony and Jethro. "I got examined a half hour ago and I was 6 centimeters dilated. The contractions are coming roughly every 4 minutes so I would say it won't be too long before we see some babies."

Jethro squeezed Tony's shoulders and his partner smiled up at him. Tony opened his mouth to ask Amber if her waters had broken but before he could the door opened and a doctor came in. she looked around before saying "I'm going to do an internal examination, so anyone who isn't the father can wait outside."

Amber looked at Tony and Jethro and then said to the doctor "Tony and Jethro are the babies' fathers so they can stay but," and she turned back to Tony, "I'd like Steve to stay too. If that's ok?"

"Of course that's ok, Amber," Tony smiled.

The doctor looked at the assembled group and shrugged. "Oh well, it's a party I guess. So, let's see where we're at."

3 hours later and Tony and Jethro were each holding a baby in their arms.

"I can't believe it," Tony said, staring down at the tiny infant in his arms.

"I know," Jethro smiled, as he looked at the identical infant lying in his own arms.

"So, who's who?" Tony asked, knowing that they had picked names but unsure of how they were going to decide which name was given to which baby.

"Jake," Jethro said, indicating across at his son his partner was holding, "and Oliver," he said, bending down to place a kiss on his son's forehead.

"Hi, Jake," Tony whispered to the sleeping infant.

The four of them sat quietly in the room that had been set aside for them. Amber was resting after the delivery and at her insistence, Steve had gone home to relieve her parents, temporarily, of their babysitting duties.

After 20 minutes on their own, two nurses came into the room.

"Mr Gibbs, Mr DiNozzo. I'm Maggie and this is Sarah and we're two of the nurses who will be looking after your sons in the nursery. If it's ok, we need to take them back there for a little while for some tests but we'll get you in in about an hour and show you how best to feed them and how to change a diaper."

Tony and Jethro reluctantly handed over their children to the two nurses who quickly disappeared out the door.

"So," Jethro sighed, already missing the weight of a baby in his arms.

"So," Tony nodded. "Coffee?"

Forty-five minutes later, unable to stay away any longer, Tony and Jethro stood outside of the nursery, watching their children through the glass. Tony caught Maggie's eye and she gestured for them to come in.

"Mr DiNozzo, Mr Gibbs, you have two beautiful, healthy little boys. We'd like to keep them in overnight but I see no reason why you can't take them home tomorrow."

"Excellent," Tony smiled.

"You can stay in the room you were in if you like but I suggest you get a good night's sleep. It'll be the last you have for a long time. But first, I think your sons have provided a little something for your first diaper lesson."

"Jet, I think you can drive a little faster."

"I don't want our babies first car journey to be a traumatic experience," Jethro said, as the car crawled along at 20mph.

Tony sighed and looked in the wingmirror at the line of traffic that was steadily growing longer behind them. He winced as the tooting horns grew more insistent and he turned in his seat to check if the noise had woken the sleeping babies in the back. Both Jake and Oliver were fast asleep, oblivious to the racket going on around them.

"Look, Gibbs, they're obviously going to be just like you. They'll be able to sleep anywhere and through anything so I don't think that they're going to be traumatised if you put your foot down and accelerate to oh, I don't know, 30! I, on the other hand, am going to shoot the next person who beeps at us so unless you want to raise these children alone while I languish in jail for murder, I suggest you speed up."

Jethro sighed and taking a look at the expression on Tony's face, put his foot down on the accelerator.

Pulling up in front of the house they shared, Gibbs switched off the engine. He turned to Tony.

"We're on our own now. Dirty diapers, midnight and 6am feeds – it's all down to us now."

"I know, aren't you excited?" Tony asked, getting out of the car and opening the back door as Jethro did the same on the other side. Walking up the path, each of them holding a baby seat, Tony stopped at the front door.

"We should make a wish," he said.

Jethro shifted the baby seat into his other hand and placed an arm around his partner.

"I have you and our babies. I already have everything I've ever wished for."

End.


	2. Chapter 2: First Day at the Office

"Ummm, Gibbs?" Kate called over to her boss who had just come in to the office clutching one of his ever-present cups of coffee. "Have you started taking milk in your coffee?"

Gibbs sat down at his desk and looked at her with a puzzled expression. She pointed to the front of his shirt and he dropped his gaze to see what she was gesturing to.

"Kate, that isn't milk. That's spit-up," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. As he walked over to the storage cabinet where he always kept a fresh supply of clothing, Kate marvelled at how much the twins had mellowed her boss. Sure, he was still the same old Gibbs when they were on a case but his children only had to be mentioned and a smile would break through his tough exterior. Kate had to admit that she liked the change.

The phone rang, tearing her away from her thoughts and by the time she had concluded the call, Gibbs had changed into a fresh shirt.

"What have we got?" he asked, immediately getting down to business.

"A morning jogger found a female Petty Officer in the park, naked and with her throat slashed."

"Ok, then. McGee, gas up the truck."

Tony pushed the double stroller through the doors and headed towards the security check-in.

"Hey, Agent DiNozzo. Is this you giving the little guys a grand tour?"

"That's it, Mike," Tony stopped while Mike came around the front of his desk to get a better look at the babies, "You're never too young to learn the basics of running a good operation."

"Well, they're good looking boys," Mike told him and Tony grinned. He never tired of people saying how beautiful his kids were.

"That's because they take after their father," Tony joked although it was actually true. It had been a difficult decision for them to choose who would be the biological father of the baby but now, as Tony looked down at the sleeping infants, he was glad that they had decided upon Jethro. Both children had inherited their father's nose and lips but more importantly for Tony, when his sons were awake, they looked up at him with their father's piercing blue eyes, a sight Tony could gaze at for hours.

"So, how are we going to do this then?" Tony asked, as he eyes up the metal detector that stood between him and the elevator. There was no way the massive stroller was going to fit through it. Tony had already had a few embarrassing moments with the stroller almost getting wedged in the doorways of various stores and coffee shops.

"Maybe if you take the kids out, we can fold it up and put it through that way," Mike offered.

"Easier said than done," Tony muttered, thinking about how long it had taken him to get the kids to sleep after their last feed. "Ok, well, then can you help me? If you unbuckle Oliver," Tony watched as Mike hesitated over the babies. "He's the one on the left." Tony knew how difficult it was to tell the boys apart. It had taken Jethro and him several days before they'd had the confidence in themselves to cut off the babies' hospital name tags. It had been Tony who had noticed that Jake had three tiny freckles on his nose, which then made the whole process a lot easier, for him at least. Although he would never admit it, Jethro's eyesight was far from perfect and Tony often walked in on him holding a baby up to his face, examining him for freckles.

When both babies were out of the stroller and safely cocooned in Mike's arms, Tony expertly folded up the stroller and pushed it through the metal detector. The loud beep it emitted, startled the babies and they both started to cry in Mike's arms.

"It's just the metal in the stroller," Tony explained, watching as the babies' faces turned red as their wails grew louder. "They're not packing heat or anything."

"I really should check out the stroller," Mike said, but as the beeping continued and the babies volume increased, he let out a sigh. "I guess it won't hurt this once."

"You're a good man, Mike," Tony smiled gratefully as he quickly opened out the stroller and took Oliver from Mike. He cuddled him to his chest for a few moments, murmuring soothing words to the tiny baby who quieted in his arms. He then repeated the process with Jake. When he said goodbye to Mike and headed to the elevator, the babies were still whimpering quietly in their stroller but it was an improvement upon the situation a few moments before. It was unfortunate that the other thing they had inherited from Jethro was his temper.

Tony was seated behind his desk when the team returned a little after 12. Oliver was asleep in the stroller but Jake was fussing in Tony's arms.

Stepping off the elevator, Kate spotted them first and rushed over. "Oh my God, he is so cute,"

"He is, isn't he," Tony said, smiling down at Jake who was quieter now and staring at Kate.

"Actually, Tony, I was talking about you,"

Tony grinned at her. "I knew you'd succumb to my charms eventually, Kate."

"Sure, Tony," Kate rolled her eyes and held out her hands, gesturing for him to hand over the baby.

"Why didn't someone tell me the babies were here?" Abby's voice could be heard before she came into view. She bounded over to the stroller and together with McGee, proceeded to pull faces and talk gibberish to Oliver who had since woken up and was finding his new entertainers amusing.

Tony spotted Jethro observing the scene in the background and he quietly made his way over to him.

"Hey," Tony smiled softly.

"Hey," Gibbs replied, his eyes never leaving the babies. "You'd never guess that this was a team of first-class NCIS agents from the way they're acting over the kids,"

Tony bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. "You know, Jethro, you kind of turn to mush yourself around the babies."

"Yeah…well…they're my kids," Gibbs muttered and made his way over to Oliver who was screaming his head off.

"What did you do?" Gibbs glared at McGee and bent down to scoop Oliver into his arms.

"It was Abby, Boss," McGee spluttered and then flinched when Abby hit his arm. "Ow, Abby! It was you! You turned your eyelids inside out and made a weird noise. It kind freaked me out and I'm not a 10 week old baby."

"Sorry, Gibbs," Abbey apologised.

"It's ok, Abs," Gibbs cradled Oliver in his arms and allowed the baby to suck on his little finger. "It probably wasn't anything you did. It just looks like this little guy is hungry."

"I'm already on it," Tony shouted as he retrieved the bottles that he had been heating. When everything was ready, Kate and Abby settled into a chair each and began to feed the babies.

"So, back to work tomorrow, huh?" Gibbs turned to Tony. "You sure about leaving the kids with this nanny?"

"Jethro, you had Fornell do a complete background check on her and her family. Plus, she's great with the kids," Tony added, thinking back to the day their new nanny had spent with them the week before.

"I know, it's just weird entrusting our kids to someone else."

"I feel the same but I need to come back to work. I'm itching to get my hands dirty again, and not just with diapers and it'll be good for the kids to have some female influence in their life for a while."

Tony took in grimace and touched his forearm. "It'll be fine. I promise."

"It's not that, Tony, it's just…" Jethro called out to Kate.

"Yeah, Boss?" she looked up, still rubbing her hand up and down Oliver's back as she winded him.

Gibbs gestured to her shoulder. "You've got a little 'milk' on your shoulder there, Kate."

End.


	3. Chapter 3: Men at Work

"Da…Da…Da….Da…."

Tony snuggled closer to Gibbs and placed a soft kiss on the older man's cheek. "Sounds like your son wants you," he whispered into his ear before rolling out of his lovers embrace and settling back down. He was just beginning to lapse back into a peaceful sleep when the baby monitor crackled back to life.

"Pa...Pa...Papa...Papa…"

"It seems you're wanted too," Gibbs laughed, taking great pleasure in pulling Tony out of bed.

"We should never have made a distinction between 'Dada' and 'Papa', and then I could always make you get up,' Tony grumbled as he slipped on a pair of cotton boxers and shrugged into the shirt he'd discarded the night before. One thing he'd learned over the past year was never to hold one of his infant sons when he had a bare chest because he was bound to end up with a few less chest hairs once their little fingers had finished tugging on them.

By the time he'd stumbled down the hall to the nursery Gibbs was already there, cradling a gurgling Jake in his arms. Tony stood for a moment in the doorway watching as Gibbs cuddled Jake to him and kissed the baby's fingers that Jake was trying to insert into his father's mouth. When he finally succeeded, Gibbs pretended to bite down on them, causing Jake to throw back his head in laughter.

Tony smiled. He could never get enough of hearing his children giggle. It was the most amazing sound he'd ever heard.

"Papa! Papa! Papa!"

Tony looked across to the other crib where Oliver had pulled himself up by the rails and was calling rather insistently for his daddy.

"Sorry, bud," Tony cooed, as he crossed over to pick up his son, "Was your brother getting all the attention?"

The little boy held his arms out and Tony lifted him clear of the crib and gathered him in his arms. Oliver rested his head on his father's shoulder and immediately clenched his fist around the material covering Tony's chest. He smiled again and placed a kiss to his son's head, still warm from sleep.

"Is everything ready for today?" Gibbs asked, suddenly appearing at his partner's side.

Tony nodded his head in the direction of two practically overflowing diaper bags in the corner for the nursery. The boys' nanny, Claudia, had flown to Boston to attend a family funeral and in her absence Tony and Jethro had no choice but take the boys with them to NCIS. Luckily they weren't working on anything but both men knew how everything could change in an instant in their job and Gibbs especially wanted to make sure that every eventuality had been covered.

"I've got some bottles and food in the refrigerator that I just need to pack before we leave, but other than that I think we're ok," Tony said confidently.

"And you're sure that it's ok with Abby?" Gibbs asked, still not sure it was the best thing to be taking the boys to NCIS with them.

"She can't wait. In fact, I think she's hoping for a case just so she can look after the babies."

Abby had agreed to look after the twins should Tony and Gibbs be called away from the office. If that happened, by the time Abby was needed to work on the case, at least Gibbs or Tony would be free to take care of the boys again. At least that was the theory.

"Ok, well, let's get J and Ollie bathed and dressed and we can head in," Gibbs said, grabbing the clean clothes set out on the dresser and heading for the bathroom. Halfway there, he stopped and turned around, causing Tony who was following, to stop abruptly.

"What is it?"

"I'm just thinking," Gibbs began, apprehensively, "She knows they're way too young for Caf-Pow….right?"

"Sure," Tony said, quickly and Gibbs nodded and started towards the bathroom again.

Tony felt a tug on his shirt and looked down to see Oliver beaming up at him. Tony lowered his head and kissed Oliver's cheek before whispering 'We'd better remind Auntie Abby…just incase."


	4. Ladies men

**A/N: Thank you for all the kind feedback. This is just a short chapter to see if people are still interested. Please let me know.**

Tony had worried how the boys would fare without having a steady female influence in their lives but as he watched the scene playing out before him, he realized it wouldn't be an issue. Ziva, Abby and Jenny had appeared the minute Tony and Gibbs had got the boys settled into a portable playpen set up in the space between Tony and McGee's desks and they hadn't moved from that spot in over half an hour. Abby had brought Bert with her and he was currently being slobbered over by Jake who squealed with delight every time his Auntie Abby helped him squeeze the hippo to make the farting noise.

On the other side of the playpen, Oliver was engaged in a fairly serious game of peek-a-boo with Jenny and Ziva, the feigned expression of surprise on the two women's faces each time the little boy's head popped up caused Oliver to laugh as hysterically as his brother. Tony had to laugh himself because Oliver's efforts at peek-a-boo were comical. Pulled up to his full height, all that was visible over the sides of the pen were tufts of light brown hair. He was having to balance himself on his tip toes in order to peer over the top which, inevitably, every time caused him to lose his balance and fall on his diaper-cushioned butt, with a look of surprise as though he hadn't expected it to happen despite having the same result a dozen times in a row.

Tony stood watching them for a few more minutes before looking at his watch. Gibbs had disappeared after getting a call on his cell and he hadn't returned yet. It had been over 20 minutes and Tony began to wonder what was keeping him. They didn't have a case but the way that Gibbs had rushed away without a word to anyone had Tony thinking that something was afoot. Just as he was thinking about going to find the older man, the elevator pinged and Gibbs strode out.

"Grab your stuff," he called as he made his way over to his desk.

"What have we got, boss?" Tony asked as he gathered together his gear. It might have seemed strange to others that Tony still referred to his partner as 'boss' but they had found it was the only way to maintain a distinct line between their jobs and their personal lives. Although, with their children playing in the squad room it seemed the line had blurred slightly.

"Dismembered Petty Officer in a parking lot on the outskirts of Greenbelt."

"Nasty," Tony said, shaking his head as he imagined what was ahead of them.

Gibbs came to a halt by the boys' playpen.

"Ziva, we need you. Call McGee. Tell him we'll pick him up the way, his dentist appointment will just have to wait." Gibbs said as Ziva began to dial her cell. "Abby you're in charge of Jake and Oliver. I expect them to be in one piece when we get back."

"I'm hurt, Gibbs. I'll treat them like the angels they are," Abby said and laughed when Jake punctuated her sentence with a loud Bert fart. "That better have been the hippo, little man." She winked at him as he giggled.

Jenny straightened up from where she had been crouched down by the playpen.

"I'll help Abby," she announced and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "What? I run a federal agency, you don't think I can help look after two infants?"

"No, I think you'll be fine as long as you realize that's probably the last time your Prada or Giorgio whatever suit is going to look like that," Gibbs said with a grin.

"I think I can deal with a little baby drool on my clothes, thank you, Jethro," she said as she picked up Oliver and hugged him to her.

"Fine," Gibbs said as the team headed for the elevator, "but it's really not the drool that you've got to worry about."

**Should I continue? Should the boys make more appearances? Let me know!**


	5. Double trouble

**A/N – thank you to everyone who has sent feedback to let me know they are still interested. There are quite a few people who have this on their alert list so hopefully you'll all continue to enjoy. This is a really short chapter but I feel bad about not updating regularly and wanted to get something out. I'm really swamped with uni work but who knows, maybe some reviews would encourage me to write more often ;) enjoy. Em x**

"I'm exhausted!" Jenny declared, collapsing onto the couch in her office, Jake sitting on the floor at her feet. Gibbs and Tony had been gone for over two hours and Jenny and Abby had brought the twins up to her office, with the reasoning that it was probably the safest place for them to be looking after the two babies. Although they were almost a year old, neither of the boys had quite mastered the art of walking yet. They could, however, get around fairly sprightly if they were holding onto an adult's hands and that's what Jenny and the young lab technician had been doing for the past half hour, helping the twins toddle around Jenny's office. While Oliver and Abby were still going strong, Jenny had had to admit defeat and was taking a rest on the sofa.

"I need to get back to the gym. I don't know how Gibbs chases around after these two,"

"The bossman is fitter than he looks," Abby said as Oliver dragged her over to Jenny's desk to examine the drawer handles for the fifth time.

Jenny leaned forward and tousled the soft brown locks on Jake's head. At her touch, he turned to look up at her, awarding her a grin which showed off his six teeth.

"They are cute though, aren't they?" Jenny said, lifting Jake up to sit on her lap.

"The cutest," Abby agreed as she and Oliver performed another circuit of the room.

As Jenny cuddled Jake close to her she could feel his diaper felt a little heavy. "Please let this just be a number one," she said to Jake who just grinned at her again and wrapped his chubby fingers in her auburn hair and Jenny realized that her long locks must be a bit of a novelty for him considering the length of Tony and Gibbs' hair. Jenny gently untangled him and organized the diaper mat and everything she needed to change him.

"Have you done this before?" Abby asked, eyeing the older woman warily as she set about unclasping Jake's pants.

"I made my money babysitting just like any other teenage girl," Jenny said somewhat proudly.

"Well, yeah, but did they have disposables when you babysat?" Abby asked.

"Yes, Abby, they did. They also had electricity and inside toilets,"

Jenny pulled apart the diaper and was relieved to see that she had managed to avoid a number two. "You can save that up for your daddies," Jenny said, tickling the little boys belly with one hand as she wiped him clean with the other. She turned her head for a second to unfold the fresh diaper and suddenly felt a stream of liquid hit her in the chest and soak through her clothes. "I forgot boys did that," she groaned, as she looked down at the mess both she and Jake were now in. "Now I realize what Gibbs meant when he said it wasn't the drool we had to worry about,"


	6. Chapter 6

Tony opened the front door to see Jenny standing on the step, dressed in a flowing summer dress and carrying a large umbrella

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement of any kind intended**

**A/N: Sorry it's been such a long time between updates but life's been hectic. Things should be a bit more peaceful now so I'll try to update more frequently. I hope people are still interested. This maybe isn't the most interesting of chapters but I just wanted to do something for Jake and Ollie's birthday. Let me know what you thought of it, I'd love to hear.**

Tony opened the front door to see Jenny standing on the step, wearing a flowing summer dress and carrying a large umbrella.

"Is there rain forecast?" Tony asked, puzzled because he'd checked the weather channel only an hour ago and it had reported sunny skies for the next 2 days.

"No," Jenny frowned and followed Tony's gaze to the umbrella in her left hand. "Oh, this? I just thought I'd come prepared in case one of the boys takes aim again,"

Tony laughed. "Actually, Jenny, that's not a bad idea but you're safe. Gibbs is on diaper duty this afternoon," He took the umbrella from her as she entered the hallway and propped it up against the wall. He gestured for her to walk in front of him.

"Where are the birthday boys anyway?" she asked.

"They're out in the yard, entertaining the rest of their party guests. Last time I looked, Jake was playing dress up with McGee in the new playhouse we got the boys for their birthday. I think Ollie is playing golf with Ducky," Tony replied as they walked through the house, towards the party out back.

"Golf? Isn't he a little young? They've only just started walking," Jenny said, incredulously and then laughed as she spotted Ducky trying to show Oliver how to putt with the tiny plastic club from the set he'd bought the boys. As impatient as Tony, Oliver decided it was much quicker, not to mention easier, to just pick up the oversized plastic golf ball and place it in the hole. Ducky shook his head and laughed.

"He's got a better handicap than you, Tony," the older man said, walking over to greet Jenny with a kiss on the cheek.

"Tony is his own handicap," Jenny laughed and Tony shrugged good-naturedly, leaving the two of them to talk as he moved over to the grill where Gibbs had stationed himself.

"Sure you have enough food, J?" Tony joked, eyeing the mountain of meat that was piled up at the side of the grill waiting to be cooked.

"Better safe than sorry," Gibbs replied, distracted as he looked over Tony's shoulder to see Oliver swinging the golf club around his head, balancing precariously on his still unsteady feet. "Ollie!" Gibbs called out sternly. The boys already knew the different tones their fathers used and realizing that he was in danger of getting in trouble, Oliver dropped the club and toddled over to join his brother and McGee in the playhouse.

Half an hour later, when Gibbs called to everyone that the food was ready, the boys emerged with McGee behind them. Abby let out a wolf whistle.

"Hey, McGee! Where are the rest of The Village People?"

Jake was dressed as a policeman while Oliver had a miniature tool belt around his waist complete with plastic tools. McGee had a plastic Sheriffs badge clipped onto his shirt and a child's stetson on his head which he hurriedly removed, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment at the realization that he was no longer hidden from view in the little house.

"They're just little. You have to indulge them," he said to Abby who simply smiled and scooped Oliver up into her arms. Jenny did the same with Jake and the two women set about making sure that the guests of honor got something to eat.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

With full bellies all round, Tony announce that it was time for presents. The twin sat on a blanket in the middle of the grass, ketchup smeared across their chubby cheeks. Tony wiped their faces clean while Gibbs, McGee and Ziva brought over the presents the boys had received. Neither Jake nor Oliver were particularly interested in the gifts, far more excited by playing with the wrapping and bows but the adults all settled into seats to watch Tony and Gibbs open the presents, except for Jenny who disappeared around the side of the house.

The first two boxes they opened contained pairs of tiny converse sneakers; black with diamante skulls on the side. "They're from me," Abby said, proudly.

"I would never have guessed," Tony laughed.

Gibbs winked at her. "Thank you, Abs,"

From McGee the boys each got a toy typewriter. "It's never too early to encourage their creativity," McGee explained as Tony rolled his eyes. Gibbs slapped him across the back of the head, a habit that still featured heavily in their relationship and Tony murmured his thanks, surreptitiously hiding the typewriters under a pile of paper, hoping the boys wouldn't become too attached to them.

"Open mine next," Jenny said as she came out the back door carrying a large box. Gibbs took it from her, bracing himself for its weight but it was as light as a feather. He ripped off the wrapping and stuck his hand into the box. He raked among the packing peanuts for a few moments, a frown on his face. Eventually his fingers curled around something and he pulled it out.

He caught Jenny's eye and she just smiled at him. He looked down at the two envelopes in his hand; one addressed to Jake, the other to Oliver. He handed one to Tony and they opened them together.

"Jenny," Gibbs almost whispered as he looked at the cheque in his hand. " We can't accept this,"

"It's so generous of you, Jenny, but Jethro's right, we can't accept it," Tony said, shocked at the number of zeroes on the piece of paper.

"It's not yours to accept," Jenny said, "It's money for the boys, for their education,"

"Still, it's…."

"Look, Jethro, Tony, I'm not going to have children of my own, not at this stage of my life. I want to do this for my Godsons. I can afford it so please, accept it in the spirit in which it's intended,"

Gibbs looked at Tony who gazed back at him, his eyes conveying that it was Gibbs' call. Without a word, Gibbs stood up and bent down to engulf Jenny in a hug. "Thank you," he whispered, kissing her cheeks as she smiled softly.

"My pleasure," she said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. The group had fallen silent and all eyes were on Jenny and Gibbs. "Isn't it about time for cake?" Jenny asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yup," Tony said, knowing that he and Gibbs would have to discuss this more thoroughly later. For now though, it was their sons' birthday and that meant birthday cake. "J, why don't you check the boys don't need their diapers changed while I get the cake from the kitchen?"

Gibbs nodded and turned around to pick up one of his sons, noticing at the same time as the rest of the group that the one year olds weren't on the blanket where they had been five minutes before. "Tony," Gibbs called as his partner headed for the kitchen. Tony turned around, knowing something was wrong not just from the tone of his partner's voice but from the way the party had dissolved into the guests frantically searching the garden.

"Where are the boys?" he asked, jogging back to the grass, his stomach in his throat as he wondered what kind of a parent loses both of their children on their birthday.

"I don't know, but don't panic, Tony, they can't have gone far, we all only took our eyes off them for a few minutes," Gibbs tried to reassure Tony but he was already berating himself for not keeping an eye on the boys. If anything happened to them he'd….

"Found them!" Ziva shouted from beside the blanket where they'd all been seated moment before. She lifted up the large box that Jenny had brought with her to reveal two giggling babies, clearly delighted with their game of hide-and-seek. Tony and Gibbs rushed over, gathering their children into their arms and holding them close.

"You scared Papa," Tony said as he kissed Oliver who was oblivious to the panic he had caused. He sat down on the blanket with him and Gibbs gave Jake a quick kiss before settling him down on the blanket next to Tony. Gibbs went into the house and set about putting a candle into the two cakes they had bought, one for each boy. Jenny followed him into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about that, that was my fault," she apologized. "If you two hadn't been so distracted by the cheques and if I hadn't brought it in the box then…"

"Don't worry about it, Jen, there was no harm done. They're two adventurous little boys, they were just having fun, I'm sure we'll be getting into a lot more panics with them before they turn 18," He lifted Jake's Tigger cake and handed it to Jen, following her out into the garden with Oliver's Elmo cake.

"You okay?" Gibbs whispered into Tony's ear as he placed the cake on the blanket.

"I'm fine," Tony nodded, "I'm just amazed at how many awful scenarios my mind was able to conjure up in 30 seconds,"

"Just another joy of parenthood," Gibbs gave his partner a quick kiss before picking up Jake and settling him on his knee. When everyone was gathered round, Abby lit the single candle on each cake. After singing 'Happy Birthday' they all urged the boys to blow out the candles, which despite Jake and Oliver's best efforts, were eventually extinguished by a simply puff of air from their fathers.

"Did you make a wish?" Tony asked Gibbs, remember back to the day they'd brought the boys home. Tony looked at his partner and then down to his children who were happily sticking their little fists into the frosting on their cakes. "You know, I think I know the answer to that one," Tony said with a smile.

**TBC soon. Please review x**


	7. Chapter 7

Snapshots chapter 7

**A/N: Just a short chapter but there are another 2 to follow in (hopefully) quick succession if people are interested. **

Tony sat on the edge of the wooden deck and watched his sons run around in the large back yard. When they had moved into the house 6 months before, the boys were still at the crawling stage and he had scoffed at Gibbs' insistence that they would need a lot of space for the twins to run around in. He'd since had to concede that his partner had been right. At 16 months, Jake and Oliver were already running around with all the energy of typical toddlers and the previous garden simply wouldn't have been big enough for the rambunctious pair.

As Tony looked on, Jake gathered up an armful of crisp fall leaves and dumped them on his brother's head. Tony waited for Oliver's indignant scream but breathed a sigh of relief when the sound of both boys' delighted giggles filled the air.

"I could listen to them laugh all day,"

Tony looked up to see his partner standing over him, his gaze fixed on their sons who were chasing each other in and out the piles of leaves.

**So, what did you think? Should I hurry to get the next chapters out or are people sick of this already? Let me know. Em x**

"Hey, you," Gibbs said, finally breaking the gaze and sitting down beside Tony, kissing him softly in greeting.

"Hey, yourself," Tony grinned. "How was work?"

Let's just say you picked a good day to use up some vacation time," Gibbs grimaced and Tony knew that meant only one thing.

"No case huh?" Tony wrinkled his nose in sympathy as Gibbs nodded. Both he and Gibbs were more comfortable out in the field than they were stuck in the office, catching up on paper work so Tony knew his lover had probably been irritable all day. "At least all the reports will be up-to-date,"

"Don't worry, Tony, we made sure there were plenty left for you,"

"Great," Tony said with mock enthusiasm. "Listen, how about we feed the boys, get them bathed and into bed early and then you and I can have a quiet night?"

"Sounds good," Gibbs gently squeezed Tony's thigh and then turned his attention to the twins who were still busy playing in the garden and hadn't noticed their father returning home. "JJ! Ollie!"

The boys stopped in their tracks and then quickly took off again as fast as their little legs would carry them stopping only once they had launched themselves into Gibbs' open arms. Tony tousled Ollie's hair as he hugged his father. He was picking stray pieces of leaf and grass out of the toddler's hair when something caught his eye.

"Jethro, please tell me that's not what I think it is," Tony said, pointing to his discovery. The older man saw straight away what his lover was indicating and let out a sigh.

"Well, unless you think it's something other than chicken pox then I have to say you're right," Gibbs said, passing Oliver to Tony so that they could each inspect one of their children for the telltale spots. "Jake's fine, as far as I can see,"

"I wish I could say the same for Ollie. Poor little guy, you're not going to be having much fun for the next few weeks," Tony soothed, kissing the little boy who smiled at the attention his father was giving him, oblivious to the itchy hell that the foreseeable future held for him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you for the continued support for this fic. I didn't realise it would be so popular and I feel really bad that I haven't been updating it regularly but life has been hectic. I've decided that this is more or less going to be an infinite fic – basically, I'm going to post a chapter (or several chapters) dealing with a certain event/time in the family's life. So essentially the fic will follow the boys (and Gibbs and Tony) through their lives which means we'll be seeing a lot more of the family (hopefully on a more regular basis!) I hope everyone approves of this idea! Enjoy this next chapter.**

"Got it!"

"We're up here," Tony called down the stairs and Gibbs took the steps two at a time, finding his partner and Oliver in the bathroom off the boys' bedroom.

"Here," he said, holding out the large bottle of Calamine lotion. "How is he?"

"He's not feeling so great now but he's being brave, aren't you buddy," Tony leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his sons head. The little boys eyes were filled with unshed tears and his lower lip trembled with the effort of trying not to cry. It was Gibbs' personality in him shining through and Tony found it remarkable that his tiny son was able to remain so stoic.

"What's that?" Gibbs asked, staring at the contents of the tub in which his youngest son was sitting.

"I mixed some oatmeal into the water. It'll help with the itching," Tony said, taking the bottle and setting it down on the ground. "Didn't your mom ever do this for you when you had chicken pox as a kid?"

"Never had the chicken pox," Gibbs replied, simply.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tony muttered with a small laugh.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Can you check on Jake?"

Gibbs took a last look at Oliver and then turned, walking into the adjacent nursery. Jake was standing in his playpen, peering over the top with questioning blue eyes.

"Olber?" he asked, almost hesitantly.

"Oliver's gonna be ok, bug," Gibbs reassured his son as he scooped him up and settled him on his hip. "He just has some itchy spots but Papa is gonna put some medicine on them and he'll feel a lot better,"

Jake looked up at Gibbs, not understanding the words that came from his mouth but soothed by his father's voice.

"Want to see Ollie?" Gibbs asked him and the little boy nodded eagerly as they made their way into the bathroom. Tony had finished rinsing the remnants of oatmeal from Oliver's small body and was gently patting him dry with a warmed towel.

"Olber!" Jake struggled to be let down and Gibbs placed him on the floor next to his brother. Oliver's eyes brightened a little at the sight of his brother but he inhaled sharply as Tony started to apply the lotion to his spots.

"Sorry, Ollie, I know it's cold but it'll stop you from feeling itchy," Tony said as he continued to apply the lotion with a cotton ball.

"Itchy?" Jake pointed to the chicken pox that over the last few hours had gradually increased in number and now covered Oliver's arms, legs, face and most of his torso.

Oliver nodded his head solemnly. Jake lifted up his own t-shirt and looked down at the milky skin of his torso. "No itchy," he stated.

"It's almost as if he's upset he doesn't have the same spots as Ollie," Tony said, looking up at Gibbs.

"Well, if you think about it, it's the first time in their lives that one of them has had something that the other hasn't"

"Yeah, well, not for long, I guess. There's no point in trying to prevent Jake from getting it – it's probably only a matter of time until his spots appear and it's best to get it out of the way while they're young. Chicken pox can be nasty when you're an adult." Tony said as he dressed Oliver in a pair of Spongebob pajamas. He stood up and stretched, his knees protesting from having been down on the ground for so long, and then he picked up Oliver, who nuzzled into his father's neck, just as he had as a tiny baby.

The family moved through to the nursery and Tony, Gibbs and Jake took turns in kissing Oliver as he was settled into his crib. Gibbs then placed Jake in his crib for a nap before he and Tony retreated downstairs.

"I guess I'll have to ask the Director for some time off work, I don't want to leave the boys with the nanny while they're sick," Tony said.

"Let me know how long you think you'll need and I'll speak to Jenny tonight. If Jake ends up catching it before Ollie is better then I'll take some time off to help. It's not ideal but we've always said that the kids come first."

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, J. I've been thinking and I think that you should go stay somewhere else for a little while. Sure, you've already been exposed, and probably while Ollie has been at his most contagious but if Jake then gets it maybe you've got a better chance of not getting it if you stay away for a week or so."

Gibbs stared at Tony with his infamous glare. "I'm not staying away from my kids, especially if they need me,"

"And what help will you be if you're sick yourself. I'm not kidding, J, if you catch it you could get really sick,"

"Not going to happen," Gibbs said defiantly. "I'm staying here. I don't get sick,"

Tony sighed but knew when he had been beaten. He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Gibbs lips. "We'll see,"

**Well I guess you can all guess what the next chapter is going to be about!**


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs looked around the bullpen and once he was happy that he was alone he slipped his hand up the front of his t-shirt.

And scratched.

He groaned slightly with relief as he scratched the spots that had appeared on his abdomen. Dammit but Tony had been right. Gibbs had laughed when his lover had suggested moving out of their family home while their sons had the chicken pox. He'd never been sick and he wasn't about to be felled by a kid's disease, especially not if it meant leaving his babies while they were sick. Jake's spots had appeared less than 24 hours after Ollie's and the past week had been hectic with Tony staying at home to look after the boys and Gibbs leaving work early to help.

He moved his hand more urgently across his stomach as the itching sensation spread. At least the spots hadn't come out on his face and hands yet and he could hide it from Tony for a little longer. Being up with two sick babies in the night meant that their love life was non-existent so he could get away with wearing sweats and a t-shirt in bed and hope that it would be a mild case of the pox that he got.

Damn, he should never have started scratching. He was now wiggling in his seat, using the back of the chair to ease the itch that was on his back while his hand moved further up his body to his chest.

"What are you doing?"

Gibbs pulled his hand out of his shirt quickly, a blush spreading over his cheeks like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Lost in his scratching frenzy, he hadn't heard the elevator ping and was shocked to see Tony standing before him, hands on his hips and a stern look on his face.

"Were you scratching?" he asked, moving closer to his silver-haired partner. Gibbs moved out of his chair and further away from his advancing lover.

"Where are the boys?" Gibbs asked, trying to change the subject but Tony wasn't easily put off.

"Abby's looking after them. They're both a bit brighter today and she suggested that you and I deserved a break. I thought we could go for a meal," Tony's eyed Gibbs warily as he spoke.

"Good idea, I'm starving," Gibbs lied, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair and heading for the elevator. As he passed, Tony grabbed the older man by the hem of his untucked shirt.

"God, Gibbs! You're covered!" Tony exclaimed as he reached out a hand to gently run over the angry looking spots on his lover's body.

"Don't!" Gibbs pulled away quickly and then noticing the hurt look on his partner's face he reached out and touched Tony's arm. "It's just...it's..." Gibbs sighed, knowing that there was no way out, "It makes them really itchy when you touch them. I guess I'm not immune to sickness after all"

Tony resisted the urge to smirk and instead took his lover's hand.

"Even Superman has his Kryptonite," Tony said as he lead Gibbs to the elevator. "How about we go home, relieve Abby of her babysitting duties and I put you to bed after covering every inch of your body in Calomine lotion?"

As the elevator doors shut, Gibbs thought that maybe getting sick wasn't such a bad thing afterall.


End file.
